Dark Banquet - Bill Schutt [105]
In Trinidad, the incomparable Farouk Muradali was involved in every aspect of my bat research there. Farouk is truly an unsung hero in the field of bat biology, and I will always be grateful that for some reason he decided to take me under his wing. While acting as the head of the Forestry Division’s Anti-Rabies Unit, Farouk and his crew (especially Amos Johnson, Keith Joseph, Naim Mondol, Partap Seenath, and Patrick Wallace) helped me capture bats (although once or twice they simply brought them to me in a two-liter Coke bottle). Not only were they incredibly generous with their time, but they also shared their trade secrets with me—all the while making sure that Janet and I felt at home in their wonderful country. Special thanks also to Mrs. Nadra Gian (head, Wildlife Section, Forestry Division, Ministry of Agriculture) and Mr. Kirk Amour (current head of Trinidad’s Anti-Rabies Unit) for their patience and assistance. At the PAX Guest House (Tunapuna), my friends Gerard Ramswak and his wife, Oda (and, recently, their daughter, Dominique), always make us feel like family whenever we stay with them.
My longtime friend, Charles Pellegrino, “learned me how to rite good.” I hope to do the same for him one day.
My wonderful friend Leslie Nesbitt spent many hours assisting me during library searches and other related research in New York City. She also spent weeks accumulating a section on blood recipes that appears on my Web site, darkbanquet.com.
At the Southampton College Summer Writer’s Workshop, I am indebted to my literary mentor, the incredibly talented and equally wise Bharati Mukherjee. Special thanks also to the man most responsible for making that conference a success each year—Robert Reeves, for his encouragement, advice, friendship, and especially for teaching me so much about the craft of writing. Thanks also to Clark Blaise, Bruce Jay Friedman, and Frank McCourt and to my fellow students, especially the wildly talented Helen Spencer.
At the Cornell Cooperative Extension I thank Dr. Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann for the information on bed bugs and also for introducing me to Tamson Yeh, who was so helpful in providing me with ideas (and references) for my chapter on mites, chiggers, and ticks. I’m also grateful for her editorial comments on several early versions of this material.
At C. W. Post College, I am indebted to Matt Draud (Biology) and to Katherine Hill-Miller (Dean of Arts and Sciences), for her kindness and unwavering support. Additional thanks to my colleagues, especially Paul Forestell, Art Goldberg, Terry Jacob, Jeff Kane, and Howard Reisman, and to my students, Adam Hirsch, Nikki Pfeiffer, and Carlee Resh.
The leech and bed bug chapters would have suffered greatly were it not for two equally memorable figures—Rudy Rosenberg (Leeches USA) and Andy Linares (Bug Off, New York City), respectively.
To Maria Armour, my student/undergrad assistant/graduate student/lab assistant/colleague and dear friend, my sincere thanks for all of your hard work and for always being there.
Lastly, I’d like to thank the following individuals: Daniel Abram (Rancho Transylvania), Bob Adamo; Ricky Adams; J. Scott Altenbach; Susan Barnard (Basically Bats); John Bodnar; Mark Brigham; Donna